The state of Missouri takes its “show-me state” nickname literally, and there is no shortage of places where certain things are shown to the citizens and guests of the state.
Billboards for the adult mega-centers and superstores break the monotony of an average I-70 cross-state drive.
The righteous citizens counteract the best they can. The following billboard is the Holy Grail of billboards. I frequently post on the subject of billboards here, but I don’t think I can ever top this one. To photograph this rare find I took a detour and put myself in danger parking on the side of the highway. What makes this billboard so unique is that until today I always read it as “Jesus saves and forgives pornography”, not having enough time to read the last line driving by at highway speeds. Apparently that’s not the case and that’s a pity, because Jesus would probably double the amount of followers if he did.
There is no better place to educate people about abortion then the side of the highway. That’s where many people do most of their reading.
As an unintended side-effect of my billboard hunting I discovered a creative way to deal with the native omnipresent Missouri front-yard pile of rusted metal. This resident of Concordia, MO can give KCMO artist Stretch some pointers on how to run a welder.
Other flying objects were hidden in the building.
Lastly, consider this your visit to Jonesburg, MO.
The “pride in their heritage” museum is open on Sundays 2 to 4.
I am often asked if I like cold and snow because I am from the USSR where it’s always cold, snowy and hungry bears are roaming the streets attacking the people who spend their days standing in darkness in line for toilet paper. As much as this image is truthful, I only like cold and snow when it stays where it belongs – in Colorado, or more generally away from the areas where I live, work and drive. The song about the white Christmas was probably written somewhere in Florida where it was unlikely to ever happen.
With this in mind here are some photos of winter in Moscow. Original Life Magazine article can be found here.
Some toys end up at the mass grave at the Community Yard Sale:
This is one morbid-looking doll:
Sturdy Play Suit – made for hard play (if you know what I mean):
A pin from a lot more innocent times:
Naked golf balls no more:
Other toys get to live in the museum:
Jewel Secrets Ken – draw your own conclusions:
In the hindsight it might have been inappropriate to write “my arms and legs are pauseable”, “ages 3 and up”, and “no batteries required” on a Pee-Wee Herman doll. If you own an Ernest talking doll, you might be a redneck:
Some PEZ dispensers:
Lastly, you may have seen these “urban toys” before:
Soviet citizens of various ages often engaged in letter-writing campaigns. Whether they were supporting various political prisoners, protesting against Israel, or just wishing for the world peace, the dwellers of communal apartments and tireless builders of communism spent their time writing group or individual letters to anyone with a mailing address. When I was growing up® the sincerity of these letters was questionable and they became one of the many semi-mandatory activities in schools and pioneer organizations. Lack of sincerity wasn’t an obstacle when such important things where at stake.
Below you will see a few pages from a kid’s magazine “Murzilka” which was very popular and widely subscribed by the Soviet children.
Murzilka-Cover Page June 1982June 1st-International Children’s Day. Let There Always Be PeaceTo The President Of The United States Mr.Reagan
Murzilka has been asked by the children of the Moscow Region to publish this open letter.
To The President Of The United States Mr.Reagan.
Mr.President,
We, the Soviet girls and boys are sending this message of protest against the war through the magazine “Murzilka“. You are telling the whole world that the Soviet people are preparing for war. That’s a lie! Our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers – everyone is fighting for peace. We know that the majority of the American citizens also want peace, and we ask – don’t deceive the people!
Peoples of the world remember that our country defended peace in the Great Patriotic War (WWII), millions of people died for peace. But you are manufacturing rockets, neutron bombs and other dangerous weapons. This is not very nice on your part. You are destroying the peace!
We don’t want kids to die in El Salvador or any other corner of the Earth. We are asking you to stop your policy because it’s the worst policy in the world. We are calling on all the children in the world to say “No to War!” together with us. We support the Soviet government and everything it does for peace.
We ask you, Mr.Reagan to accept the proposals made by the leader of the Communist Party and our State Leonid Illyich Brezhnev. We demand the end to the arms race.
We need peace!
Signed by the 3rd grade students of the middle school in Moscow Region.
I am pretty sure Mr.Reagan went to his grave without reading one issue of Murzilka.
And now the song: “Before it’s too late” with lyrics “to the sunny peace – yes, yes, yes; to the nuclear explosion – no, no, no!”
What makes this billboard so unique is that until today I always read it as “Jesus saves and forgives pornography”, not having enough time to read the last line driving by at highway speeds. Apparently that’s not the case and that’s a pity, because Jesus would probably double the amount of followers if he did.
